


Remembering

by intermediatewriting



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 20:58:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7590082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intermediatewriting/pseuds/intermediatewriting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico was in a familiar place and Will was elsewhere. Despite the distance, Nico used his memory to remember Will and what they used to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Remembering

He remembers, and that was the hardest part. The fragments of the moments they shared together were stuck in his brain, constantly rewound every chance he could get. Perhaps he also does not want to forget, afraid that once he does, what’s left of his relationship with Will dies.

As a result, every place in this city is marked with memories of Will. The two rarely saw each other and when they did, they explored every inch of this town until there was no place they haven’t been to. Now, the town haunts Nico and reminds him of what happened, and what could have been.

As Nico stared at the seat in front of him, an image of Will appears from March last year. His blonde hair was covered with a beanie but there were small tufts of curls poking out and framing his face. Nico was so tempted to pull them out and feel its softness between his fingers. Instead, he just leaned back and stared at the boy who was bundled up in a sweater that was a loud orange, like the sunset. It was ridiculous, with the way it all bunched up on his wrists because it was too long, but on Will, it belonged like it was meant to be there in the first place. 

He remembers that the tip of Will’s nose was red that night and that the boy constantly covered it with his right hand to distribute warmth when he thought Nico wasn’t looking. When the coffee came (and when Will poured what seemed like ten packets of sugar), he wrapped his hands around the cup and Nico watched as the steam went up, right across Will’s face until it faded. Will, whose hands were now warm from the coffee, would pat his hands on his cheeks and on his nose.

All Nico could think about was how ridiculous he was, and how he was his. The boy that was in front of him was stupid, infuriating, constantly physically absent, but he was his. 

The sign from outside the window gives the seat in front of him a pink hue. He closes his eyes and wishes that Will was there, being illuminated by the light. He could imagine the boy’s hair tinted with a soft candy cotton pink. Will’s blue eyes, that reminded him of the summer sky or pool water, would play with the color pink. The light would bask on his cheeks which were scattered with little freckles that he loved to count when he couldn’t sleep.

His lips didn’t need the pink light to have color. Nico always remembered it to be almost red, subjected to Will’s constant biting. With that image, he remembered how irresistible he found it to be and how he couldn’t stop kissing Will, whether they were on the bus, in the middle of the sidewalk, or in this café. 

Nico feels a drop of tear slowly slide on his face and watches as it dropped on the white table underneath. He couldn’t believe that after two years of being together, he’d be here ordering the same brewed coffee and ham and cheese sandwich minus Will's brewed coffee (plus five packets of sugar, please) and the clubhouse sandwich with chips. Up until a few weeks ago, the waiters asked him if Will would be following him. After seeing that it had already been months since they were last seen together in their favorite booth, the questions ceased to be brought up.

To be honest, Nico was surprised they even asked about Will. The last time they were here, Nico was in the same booth, looking out the window for Will. He looked for his companion among the hundreds of passers-by that afternoon. Twenty minutes after Nico has settled in the café, the door opened and Will entered.

He was in a crème trench coat that was discarded on the seat as soon as Will was sitting right in front of him. Underneath the trench coat was a white button down that was rolled up to his elbows. There was not a single crease on his shirt or his brown pants. 

Will, however, still managed to look devastated. He was looking down but Nico could still see his gold eyelashes flutter as he constantly blinked. His eyebags were puffed up. His nose kept on running.

Nico reached for his hands which were on the table. Will moved it toward himself. 

A waitress named Gina was nearing them but Nico held up his hand, faked a smile, and said “the usual”. Gina nodded and went back to the kitchen. They waited like that for a while, with Will hanging his head down and occasionally bringing his hand up to wipe his nose. Nico just stared and tried to preserve that image of Will. That was all he could do as he tried to digest the scene and what he thought was about to come.

Will was beautiful that afternoon, and that hurt, too. After they got their food, Nico immediately started digging in but Will remained stoic. Nico asked him what was wrong and there was no reply. A few seconds later, Will’s shoulders were shaking and Nico could hear sobbing.

Nico immediately got up and went beside Will. He wrapped his arms around the boy and the boy immediately enclosed his arms around Nico’s waist, fingers gripping the back of Nico’s t-shirt. All Nico could do was to kiss Will’s head as Will’s tears ran down his cheeks. 

“I love you so much, do you know that? Whatever you’re going through, we’re going to get it over with.” Nico whispered. His chin was resting on the top of Will’s head and his hands were rubbing Will’s back.

Will’s grip tightened. 

“Can you—“ He sobbed. “Can you just hold me right now?”

Nico closed his eyes and pulled Will closer. 

Will left with his food untouched. Nico barely ate his but he had already lost his appetite. The food was already cold and he could not bear to swallow it, much less consume it.

He couldn’t seem to get up because Will’s words were still ringing through his mind and dragging him down. 

“I’m unhappy and I need to fix myself. I barely have time for myself anymore. I don’t have time to think and to love myself.”

“Don’t I give enough love for the two of us?” Nico asked. Will stilled.

“Nico, we barely even see each other.” Will pulled away and trained his blue eyes that were filled with tears on the other boy.

“Sometimes, sometimes—when I’m in my saddest state, I could barely remember your embrace.” 

When he said that, Nico cried too. All this time, when he was back in New York, all he did was to remember Will. On the contrary, Will was travelling around the world, replacing Nico with new places and faces. 

But even then, he could not bear to forget Will. Not when he was the boy that held Nico’s hands and kissed him in front of other people without guilt or shame. He could not even try for one minute to forget the boy who would jump onto Nico’s arms in the airport after a twelve-hour flight. He could not erase the times when they would sing together in the shower, their hair shaped into a Mohawk by the shampoo. 

Will was simply unforgettable. Months later, in the coffee shop where they spent their first and last date together, Nico still aches because of that.

**Author's Note:**

> I have this small fantasy that the chimes hanging by the café door would ring and Nico would look up to see Will standing there. But hmmm…maybe for another time….


End file.
